Follow BI

McDonald’s is rolling out its first vegan burger in the Nordics – here’s how it tastes

The news earlier this autumn that McDonald's was testing a vegan burger in Finland rocked the fast food landscape. The burger was only sold in the small city of Tampere, from October 4 through November 21.

The response was overwhelming. And now McDonald’s is rolling out the McVegan nationwide – not just in Finland but Sweden as well, on December 28.

“The test in Finland blew all the expectations out of the water” says Staffan Ekstam, Head of Food Strategy at McDonald’s in Sweden.

“We can now offer our guests a vegan burger developed in Sweden. Our ambition is that there should be something on our menu for all of the 400,000 guests who visit us every day”.

Oliver Pechter / BI Nordic

During development, tasting panels tried out and reviewed over 100 different recipes – with the sole objective of perfecting the first vegan burger for McDonald’s, which has struggled to attract millenials with its standard range of burgers.

Ad

The soy-based patty has been developed specifically for McDonald’s by Anamma, a niche food company from southern Sweden. Anamma led quite an anonymous existence until it was acquired in 2015 by Norwegian food giant Orkla in response to a blossoming vegan trend in the fast food industry.

Oliver Pechter / BI Nordic

We tried the McVegan – here’s the verdict

Granted, McDonald’s vegan debut is very late on the scene in the Nordics, but now that it’s here it’s actually not bad.

The taste of the actual patty is quite neutral with a good texture, complimented by the straightforward classic burger ingredients of salad, onion, tomato and vegan mayo.

Oliver Pechter / BI Nordic

McDonald's attracts with a competitively low price, or “very aggressive”, as Staffan Ekstam puts it: SEK 49 ($5,8) for a McVegan menu. This is not only less than your average McDonald’s menu, but also considerably cheaper than McDonald’s Swedish rival Max – which has seen enormous success with its range of vegetarian offerings during recent years.

Judging by the response in the McVegan received in Finland, this product fills a substantial gap which might attract whole new customer segments to the fast food chain – and has all the potential to become a resounding success.